September 16

It was an easy 14 miles to the little town of Belden, mostly down hill and shaded from the sun with an abundance of good water available. We had cell phone service, but no wifi once in town and as usual plugged our phones in to the wall upon arrival. There was a ping pong table, and for a while now the trash talk has been liberally voiced between Louis and me as to who is a better player. I had Louis down in the first game early, but he came back and won and then won again in the second to end the dispute. The series is not over and the next time when the sun is not in my eyes and I have the favorable wind condition he will lose. 

After a double bacon cheeseburger for each of us and splitting a quart of milk and a box of vanilla wafers for dessert, we let things digest for a minute and hiked out. We started our 4,500 ft. climb and targeted 10 miles for a campsite. I had 3G and put on my favorite Pandora station, The Glitch Mob radio. Their music is so intense and perfect for a huge climb, and immediately I had the motivation to hike. After leaving Belden at 3:00 I arrived at the intended campsite at 6:30 and am now cowboy camped and ready for a good sleep.